Article published: How social context can change perceptions of electronic performance monitoring
In this study, Dr. Mauren Wolff and Prof. Dr. Cornelia Niessen investigated how social characteristics of an organization influence employees’ negative reactions to electronic performance monitoring (EPM) systems. Using a scenario-based approach (N = 886), the researchers were able to show that employees perceived greater invasions of their privacy, developed more evaluation anxiety, and were less accepting of EPM systems overall when managers had access to the collected data. The results highlight the importance of individual system characteristics—such as data accessibility—for the acceptance of EPM.
Wolff, M. S., Niessen, C., Schnabel, C., Wieser, L., & Abraham, M. (2025). Who’s watching you? The role of social context in shaping employees’ reactions to electronic performance monitoring. Personnel Review, 54(7), 1810-1828. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2024-0326